


Things Don't Have To Be Perfect

by down_into_underland



Series: ShiroMatt Week 2016 [3]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Anon Prompt, Bullying, Friends to Lovers, M/M, ShiroMatt Week 2016, angst a little
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-27
Updated: 2016-09-27
Packaged: 2018-08-18 04:53:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8149736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/down_into_underland/pseuds/down_into_underland
Summary: Shiro has had only one true friend for as long as he could remember, and even after they were separated, he thought about him constantly. He never expected to see find love in this old friend





	

**Author's Note:**

> The idea for this came from an anon prompt asking for a fic where shiro and matt were childhood friends that didn't realize they loved each other!

Shiro was never very popular as a kid. He was always the kid that was too serious, worried too much, had a tendency to snitch on kids that broke the rules, and never wanted to stay up too late at sleepovers. Of course, all of the adults and teachers loved Shiro when he was in elementary school. But that only seemed to make kids look at him with disdain more and more. So needless to say, Shiro was fairly lonely as a kid. And even though he would never let anyone see it, the loneliness did get to him quite a bit. 

Shiro was only a kid, only 8 years old, and he would often find himself quietly sobbing into his pillow at night. He cried out of fear of the loneliness he knew he would have to feel when he went to school the next day. He knew he would end up sitting under a tree, pretending to read a book he already read, and just watch all the other kids play at recess. It hurt Shiro, and he began to question himself. He wondered if he should act different, even though his mom told him to be himself. Because clearly being himself wasn’t working. Maybe he was just supposed to be lonely. 

That possibility caused a pain to flare up in Shiro’s chest as the small boy laid in bed way past his bedtime and clutched his pillow tightly. It was the night before the first day of school, and Shiro had spent all summer lonely and with a fake smile. So, Shiro decided it was the year he would change who he was, even if he had to lie and be fake, at least he wouldn’t be lonely. 

But just when Shiro was about to change, something strange happened. He made a friend. 

The bell releasing the students to recess had just rung, and as Shiro stepped out onto the playground, a nervous confidence in his chest, he heard a loud commotion from near the tree he would usually read at. He began to walk over to the tree to find some of the boys from the class next to his playing tug-o-war with a much smaller boy and a book. 

“Stop! Give it back! My dad bought it for me!” 

“Stop pretending to read these! They’re too tough for a baby like you! You’re just trying to look smarter than everyone! You’re a faker and a liar!” One of the bigger boys said as he yanked the book from the small boys hands causing the small boy to fall back and hit his head against the tree. The small boy glared up at the boys with tears in his eyes as he rubbed the back of his head.

“Aw, are you gonna cry for us baby? Maybe this will teach you to not be such a faker!” The boy holding the book tore a few pages out of the book and threw it into a mud puddle behind them. The much smaller boy cried out and tried to stop him but was pushed back by two of the other boys. 

Now, Shiro may not have been one to play sports like most of the other boys here. But he was substantially taller than most kids his age, and thus towered over the bullies when he walked over to the ones holding the smaller boy back. 

“Hey! Knock it off!” Shiro said pushing the boys away from the small and shaking boy. 

“Or you’ll do what?” The boy who had threw the book asked stepping up to look up at Shiro who only glared down at him threateningly. Shiro saw the boy’s confidence drain from his face as he realized how much bigger Shiro was, and how angry the boy was. 

“Come on guys, these two are too weird for us anyway!” The pack of boys ran off towards the playground. Shiro walked over and picked up the muddy book and looked at the soiled cover. It was a book called Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Shiro had heard about these books, but had never actually read them. Shiro heard sniffling behind him and turned to see the smaller boy curled up in a ball crying into his knees. Shiro had never really seen someone cry like this before, so he wasn’t sure what he should say. Instead of saying anything, he sat down next to the boy and put the book down in front of them.

“ … I’m sorry they did that to your book. They’re not very nice people, are they?” Shiro asked softly as the crying boy shook his head. They sat in silence for a little longer before Shiro tried to talk again.

“You said your dad bought that for you right? Could he buy you a new one?” Shiro asked. The boy was breathing heavily and trying to talk through a mess of hiccups and sobs.

“I-I don’t want h-him to know I-I ruined it!”

“But you didn’t ruin it. Those other kids did.”

“B-But I-I said I would be ok g-going to school w-with older kids! N-Now he’s gonna n-not believe me a-and send me back!” They boy pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and blew his nose into it as Shiro looked at him confused.

“What do you mean older kids? Are you not the same age as us?” The smaller boy shook his head, “Then how are you in our class?” Shiro asked. The boy took a few deep breaths before talking much more calmly now.

“I-I’m only six years old, but I was too smart for my old class so the adults at my school said I should be with older kids. My dad didn’t really like the idea because he was worried I wouldn’t have friends. I begged him to let me at least try it out but if he finds out no one likes me here he’ll make me go back to my old school! And I hated it there! It was too stupid and boring.” The small boy explained as Shiro looked down at the boy in awe.

“You skipped two grades? That’s amazing!” Shiro’s eyes filled with wonder and excitement that seemed to confuse the smaller boy.

“It is?”

“Yeah! You must be super smart! That’s so cool!” Shiro said with a large smile that the smaller boy returned with a sad smile of his own.

“Everyone in my class thinks I’m lying because I’m too young to be that smart.”

“Well they’re stupid heads!” Shiro’s words caused both boys to start laughing loudly.

“Thanks, I’m glad someone here is nice. What’s your name? I’m Matt Holt.” Matt said holding out his hand. Shiro happily shook the smaller boy’s hand.

“My name’s Takashi Shirogane, but I don’t like that name. It’s too long. So everyone just calls me Shiro.” Shiro explained.

“Really? I think Takashi is a cool name! Like a superhero!” The two boys spent the rest of recess talking about superheros and other simple things like their families. 

That was the start of a life long friendship that would sprout and grow between Matt and Shiro. Shiro protected Matt from any of the bullies that would try and mess with him, and Matt was the friend that Shiro had so desperately needed all this time. With Matt, Shiro could be himself. He didn’t need to lie or put on the mask he had been so prepared to wear. Shiro could finally be happy and enjoy his life now that he had a friend like Matt.

* * *

 

Middle school was rough for Matt. Like, really rough. It wasn’t the classes that were a problem, obviously, the boy was a genius. But while he was in elementary school, his age was one thing. Everyone was still a child in elementary school, so seeing a slightly smaller child in your class wasn’t that odd, but when you got to middle school all of that changed. When everyone else in your grade was 12 or 13, and you were still only 10 years old, there was a much bigger difference. All of the other boys were getting taller, more muscular, and their voices were getting deeper. Puberty for Matt wasn’t going to be happening any time soon, and he was naturally a small person. Needless to say Matt hated gym class more than life itself, but life was pretty tough too. 

Things were exceptionally tough when the only real friend Matt had was Shiro, who after puberty, went from having no friends, to running the entire school. 

Shiro was naturally taller and more muscular than everyone, but when puberty hit, he looked older and more mature than every other boy in the school. Not to mention way hotter than everyone else. So of course, Shiro had become extremely popular, and Matt wasn’t going to lie to himself and say it didn’t bother him. No. It bothered him a lot. All of these fake people all of the sudden flocking to Shiro after being mean to him when they were kids just because he was hot. It made Matt’s blood boil. Especially when he would get pushed to the side and left alone while Shiro was dragged off to hang out with a group of girls just because he was too nice to say no. 

Even though Matt hated to admit it, he was definitely jealous. He was jealous of all the attention Shiro was getting, and all of the time other people were getting to spend with Shiro. It hurt Matt more than it probably should have, but he was still so much younger than everyone else. He had started wondering if maybe being two grades ahead really was a bad idea. Was it still possible to drop down back a grade? Even if he did drop down, would it be any different? It seemed like no matter what option Matt went with, he was doomed to end up lonely and miserable. 

It was almost winter break, and everyone in their school was decorated and getting ready for the winter dance that the middle school had every year. It made Matt laugh since it was just a big party, not really a dance, yet people still took it so seriously. Everyone was waiting anxiously for their crush to ask them to the dance or trying to work up the courage to ask their crush to the dance. Matt had no need to worry about that of course, because who the hell would ask the 10 year old to the dance? No. If Matt even set foot in that dance he knew he would be bullied mercilessly. Of course, Shiro had the opposite problem. If you could even call it a problem, of course. Shiro was getting asked out by girls left and right. Matt was sure he had a date by now, but just figured Shiro had forgotten to tell him. Matt seemed to get left out every time something happened with Shiro. It was like they were barely friends anymore, and it really got to Matt.  

The Friday before the winter dance which was held the Saturday after school is released for winter break, Matt was once again sitting alone in the library eating his lunch having been pushed out of the table he had originally sat at with Shiro. He had heard from some girls in his english class that apparently Shiro was supposed to decide who his date was today by the end of the day. Matt was trying to ignore the pain in his chest at the mention of Shiro going and having fun at the dance without him. Matt buried his nose deeper into the book he was reading when he heard someone pull out the chair across the table from him. He peeked up from his book to see Shiro sitting across from him.

“Hey Matt! Is this where you’ve been hiding? I was wondering where you’ve been disappearing to during lunch.” Shiro’s smile made Matt happy, but he was still hurt by how far away Shiro had drifted from him. 

“Oh, well yeah. I’ve been here. Reading, doing homework and stuff, y’know?” Matt replied quietly as Shiro laughed softly. 

“Yeah I guess the lunchroom isn’t the best place for that, huh?”

“Yeah…” Matt and Shiro fell into a somewhat awkward silence that Matt had expected, but Shiro found worrying. Shiro wasn’t used to this silence between him and Matt, and he was beginning to worry that something might be wrong with Matt.

“Hey, is everything ok Matt?”

“Yeah, everything’s ok.” Matt’s reply was short and sharp, and it only made Shiro made more worried. Shiro wanted to press Matt further but he felt as though if he asked anything else of the boy he would only get angrier.

“Well, ok then… what are we going to do for the dance tomorrow? Do you want my mom to drive us there and your parents pick us up? I mean if you don’t mind riding with whichever girl I take.” Shiro asked smiling, and leaning in closer. Matt looked up at Shiro once again only this time with a face full of confusion.

“Huh?”

“The dance tomorrow, do you want to carpool?” Shiro asked again and Matt looked down somewhat sad and angry. 

“Shiro. I’m not going to the dance.” Matt finally replied and Shiro looked shell shocked at Matt’s response. 

“What?! What do you mean you’re not going?!” Shiro asked a little louder than was acceptable in a library and ducked his head low when an angry librarian shushed him. 

“I mean I’m not going.”

“But why not?” Shiro asked concerned, and Matt slammed his book shut angrily and stood up. 

“Because, Shiro, if you haven’t noticed no one here likes me. Everyone in this school likes to torture me, and the only person who ever made it tolerable going to school each day was you, and you seem to be much more focused on hanging out with all of your new friends. Who, mind you, decide to bully me every chance they get! So yeah, I’m not going to the stupid dance.” Matt stormed off in anger with frustrated tears threatening to spill out. He quickly made his way into the bathroom, ignoring the curious stares from the students in the hallway. Matt locked himself in the stall and furiously began texting his father, begging him to come pick him up early. Because there was no way he was going back to class after this, especially when he had a class with Shiro later today. Thankfully, his father quickly responded and was there to pick Matt up within ten minutes.

* * *

 

The next day, Matt was sitting curled up on the couch wrapped in a blanket tightly watching some reality tv show. His parents were both at work and his sister had gone over to her friend’s house for dinner and a sleepover. So here Matt sat, curled up in a blanket, sadly watching the clock. The dance was just about to start, and Matt knew Shiro was probably dressed up all nicely, hanging out with a girl who looked just as pretty. Matt sighed and pulled the fluffy blanket around him tighter, trying not to cry again as he did last night. 

Just as Matt was about to lie down for a nap, he heard his doorbell ring. He jumped up and walked over to the door with the blanket draped around his shoulders. He opened the door and looked up shocked.

“Shiro? What are you doing here? Isn’t the dance supposed to start soon?” Matt looked up confused and Shiro smiled brightly.

“Yup, it actually started about five minutes ago.” Shiro stepped into Matt’s house holding something that smelled really good behind his back.

“But why are you here then? And is that Chinese food?” Matt asked trying to peek behind Shiro’s back. Shiro smiled proudly and held out a bag of Chinese food for Matt. 

“I already know what you order since it’s the same thing every time. My mom stopped and picked it up for us. So do you want to eat it now or later?”

“Wait! Seriously why are you here and not at the dance?” Matt said as he chased down Shiro who had moved to set the food down on the coffee table in front of the couch. Shiro stopped what he was doing and sighed sadly.

“I never noticed that those kids were being mean to you, Matt. Honestly I didn’t, and I’m a horrible friend for not releasing that I was pushing you away. I got swept up in having all of these new friends and forgot to think about what that meant for you, especially since they didn’t like you. None of those people are my real friends, you are though Matt, and that’s why I’m here and not there.” Shiro explained smiling calmly at Matt who had finally begun crying. He had been holding so much in, trying to be more mature than he truly was. He hugged Shiro tightly who returned the affection right back. 

“I’m sorry, Matt, I really am. From now on I promise it’s you and me. If they don’t like that, oh well.” Shiro said as he handed a sniffling Matt a box of tissues. Matt smiled and nodded before sitting back down on the couch. Shiro sat beside him and opened up the first container of chinese food. 

“So what do you want to do?”

“Want to play Mario Kart?” Matt asked excitedly.

“Oh yeah, just so you can kick my ass again.”

“Oh come on! I’ll go easy on you!” Matt replied hopping up to get the game from the cabinet across the room. Shiro felt his chest grow warm with happiness as he watched the happiness finally return to Matt’s face.

* * *

 

The rest of middle school was significantly better for both Matt and Shiro. The two of them grew closer than they ever truly had before. Then, just as they were both about to enter high school, they were pulled apart once again.

Matt’s dad was offered the job of his dream with the space program, but in taking the job, Matt and his whole family had to move across the country. Matt and Shiro were both heartbroken by this development, but they knew this was just how things have to be. 

Shiro of course went back to being flocked by girls and guys that wanted to be Shiro’s friend. He wasn’t mean or rude to any of them, but he would never really call any of them his true friends. He stuck to himself most of the time, but unlike when he was young, he was ok with that.

For the first year after Matt moved, Shiro and him would email and call each other frequently. They would talk about everything that happened since the last time they talked, even down to the smallest detail. But then over the next year, their emails and talks became more and more spread out, till Shiro was lucky to receive and email from Matt once a month. After two years, the two lost contact. Shiro would still check the inbox of his email daily, just to see if he got a reply from Matt, but nothing ever was there. He thought about Matt often, and missed his friend greatly. But that didn’t mean he didn’t make friends or have a life of his own. He had made friends with a girl who transferred in their sophomore year named Allura. A lot of people thought she was stuck up, sort of how they used to view Shiro as a kid, but he got along great with the regal looking girl. She also didn’t mind listening when Shiro would spew about his memories of Matt. She even supported Shiro when he said he was dying part of his hair white.

High school came and went, and Allura was still Shiro’s best and only true friend from his school. So when they both ended up going to the same university, it seemed perfect to Shiro. Their university was quite a distance from their hometown, a 5 hour drive to be exact. Shiro and Allura even ended up in the same dorm at their school, just different floors. Shiro was going as an astro-physics major while Allura was an international relations major, so they didn’t exactly have many classes together. But they still hung out often, even as they gathered more and more friends. 

Two years really flew by while Shiro was in college, he could barely believe he was already a junior and would be graduating so soon. It seemed so unreal. 

Now during all of this time, Shiro really didn’t think too much about his childhood friend, only from time to time would he would scroll down his email inbox and see the last email he received from Matt all those years ago. Of course, that all changed when he saw a suspiciously familiar unruly mop of brown hair out of the corner of his eye. 

He had been walking out of the library when it happened, and at first he didn’t understand why he was so shocked about that head of hair. Then the image of Matt flashed in his mind and he found himself spinning around to find the person he had passed. A short boy was standing with a group of three taller and older looking boys. They were walking quickly away, farther and farther from Shiro. He shook his head and told himself not to be ridiculous. If Matt was a student here, he would know by now. Besides that kids was way too short to be Matt. With a dejected sigh, Shiro continued on his way back to his dorm. He was determined to not think about Matt anymore, since he knew he was just getting his hopes up for nothing.

Of course that determination faded as he lied awake in bed that night thinking back about how much Matt might have changed since the last time he saw the boy when they were still in middle school. He woke up the next morning too tired and too not ready to go to class. But he dragged himself out of his bed and began to get ready for the day. He started walking to the dining hall when he heard a laugh that was way too familiar to be coincidence. It was the same loud snorting laugh Matt did whenever he found something especially funny. Shiro’s head whipped around to see the same Matt look-alike from yesterday laughing with the same group of friends. The whole group was laughing loudly, earning some tired and angry looks from students who did not want to be up this early.

This time Shiro wasn’t going to let this go. That kid was too much like Matt, but he never remembered Matt mentioning having any cousins. Especially not any that looked exactly like him. 

Shiro approached the group of boys (that were probably freshmen) and as he approached them the loudly laughing group of boys fell into a silence. Shiro knew he could be intimidating, it happened a lot with new people. He walked over to the boys and tried to smile politely at the Matt look-alike. 

“Hey.”

“ … Hey.” A small boy said back.

“What’s your name, you remind me of someone I used to know.” Shiro explained and the small boy looked at Shiro suspiciously before turning back to his friends. His friends just shrugged and the boy turned back to Shiro.

“My name is Pidge Holt.” Pidge replied cautiously. Shiro’s heart skipped a beat. Holt. Matt’s last name is Holt. Is this boy related to Matt?

“Holt? Do you know anyone named Matt Holt?” Shiro asked excitedly. The boy’s face turned from suspicious to surprised.

“Well yeah, my older brother’s name is Matt.” Pidge explained and Shiro looked down puzzled. Matt never had a brother, he only had a sister, unless… 

“Wait, are you Katie?” Shiro asked and watched the smaller boy pout.

“I don’t use that name anymore but… yeah that’s me.” 

“I’m sorry! I get it, don’t worry I was just surprised to see you! I’m Shiro, do you remember me?” Shiro watched Pidge’s eyes light up in recognition.

“Shiro? Holy shit it’s really you! Oh my god Matt’s gonna freak when I tell him you’re here!” Pidge spoke excitedly and Shiro felt an odd thumping in his chest. There was some feeling rising within him at the thought of meeting Matt again, yet it also made him a little nervous. 

“How has Matt been? Where’s he studying?” Shiro asked.

“Oh that’s right! I forgot you probably didn’t know! Matt just transferred her from his old school!”

“Wait, Matt’s here?” Shiro asked in disbelief.

“Yeah! He’s in class right now actually but we’re supposed to meet up for lunch. Did you want to come with us?” Shiro felt that wave of nervousness flood over him again. But this is his chance to finally see Matt after all these years. 

“Uh, sure, what time?” 

“12:30!”

“Yeah, I guess I’ll see you guys then.” Shiro replied as he walked off to go get some coffee, all ideas of food having been replace with butterflies in his stomach. 

It was finally 12:30 in the afternoon, and Shiro was walking to the dining hall with Allura, rambling nervously about seeing Matt again after so long. Allura was trying to calm Shiro down, and not really succeeding. Shiro hadn’t even realized they were in the dining hall until Allura asked where Pidge and his friends were sitting. Shiro’s mind snapped back into focus as he scanned the large hall and the tables for Pidge and his friends. Finally his eyes landed on Pidge, and another unruly head of hair next to him. As Shiro and Allura approached the table Shiro’s eyes finally could make out the boy next to Pidge, and it was definitely Matt Holt.

“Shiro? Holy shit Shiro!” Matt jumped out of his chair and wrapped his arms around Shiro tightly. Shiro instinctively wrapped his arms tightly around the smaller boy and squeezed him tightly. 

“I’ve missed you so much! I’m sorry we lost touch but after I didn’t reply for a while I thought it might be weird to just respond out of nowhere and then I was worried you might’ve forgotten about me and I really didn’t want to get embarrassed like that so I just didn’t ever reply.” Matt explained rambling on after he finally released Shiro from their long hug. Shiro laughed lightly.

“It’s ok, Matt I understand, really. But I would never forget about you, that’s just silly.” Shiro smiled and Matt’s smile made Shiro’s entire heart melt. He was so happy to see Matt’s goofy and bright smile again. Matt went to go say something else but stopped when his attention drifted to Allura standing next to Shiro.

“Oh hi, sorry, what’s your name?” Matt asked politely turning away from Shiro. Allura blinked somewhat caught off guard and smiled sweetly.

“My name is Allura, I’m Shiro’s friend from high school.” Allura explained shaking Matt’s hand.

“It’s nice to meet you Allura! I’m Matt.”

“Oh trust me, I know who you are. Shiro talked about you quite a bit back in high school.” Allura said laughing as Shiro glared at her trying to silence the giggling girl. Shiro and Allura took their seats at the table, Shiro sitting beside Matt. The rest of the group talked amongst themselves as Shiro and Matt spent the entire hour catching up on everything that they missed over the years. Even after they had finished eating, Matt and Shiro sat themselves on a couch in the campus center and just talked for hours since neither of them had any more classes. 

As Shiro and Matt talked, Shiro felt as though a part of himself that had left was slowly starting to come back. As though without a friend like Matt there with him, he wasn’t really complete. Sure Allura was an amazing friend, but she wasn’t Matt. Nobody could be like Matt. Shiro had slowly started to realize that fact. They completely lost track of time as they talked, having skipped right over dinner and now it was starting to get dark out. Shiro offered to walk Matt back to his dorm, feeling slightly protective of the smaller boy. Though Matt insisted he would be fine on his own, he wasn’t turning down Shiro’s offer to walk with him. 

This was these boys routine for the next couple of weeks. They would spend almost all of their free time together, just like they had when they were younger. Shiro thought nothing of this until Allura brought it up to him while they were studying. 

“So… Shiro.”

“Yes?” Shiro replied looking up at Allura suspiciously as she wore a playful grin on her face.

“Well, you and Matt have been spending quite a lot of time together.”

“Yeah, and?” 

“I was just wondering when you were going to actually ask him out.” Allura explained as Shiro’s mind stopped working. 

“Uh, what? What are you talking about?” Shiro asked trying to regain his composure. 

“When are you going to ask Matt out? I mean it’s obvious you both like each other  _ a lot _ .” Allura asked and Shiro looked at her dumbfounded.

“What do you mean? Matt and I are just friends, Allura.” Shiro’s words caused Allura’s smile to fade and be replaced with a look of disbelief.

“You’re joking, right? Shiro you look at that boy like he’s your entire world. And he looks at you the same way. There’s absolutely no way the two of you are just friends.” Allura said stubbornly. Shiro began to think about it a bit. Was what Allura said was true? Did he like Matt like that? Shiro had never really thought about it like that. But Matt did mean more to him than anyone else in the world. And he did think Matt was the cutest thing alive. And he wouldn’t really mind living in a cosy apartment with Matt until they grew old together.

Ok so yeah maybe Shiro was a little gay for his childhood best friend.

“Oh my god you’re right…” Shiro said in shock as Allura started to laugh.

“I can’t believe it took you this long to realize.” 

“What do I do Allura?” Shiro asked in a panick.

“I already told you that he looks at you the same way. Just ask him out. I’m sure he’s just waiting for you to ask him.” 

“But what if he’s not? What if he doesn’t like me like that? What if I make it awkward? What if he hates me?” 

“Shiro stop it.”

“Sorry.” Shiro said trying to calm down.

“Now. I’m being completely honest Shiro. You should really ask Matt out, I really don’t think there’s any chance of him not saying yes.” Allura said reassuringly and Shiro nodded. After that afternoon, Shiro started to plan out how he would ask out Matt.

* * *

 

Shiro had everything planned out perfectly. He had to, or else he would’ve never gotten the strength to finally ask Matt out. Of course he was still waiting to ask him out, but he had it at least all planned out. 

It would be a Friday, Shiro would meet with Matt for lunch after their last class as they normally did. Then, instead of going and studying at the library like the pair usually did, Shiro would suggest the two of them go for a walk. Then as they walked among the trees on campus, Shiro would take them along one of the walking trails nearby. Finally when they were alone, Shiro would tell Matt about how he felt and ask him if he wanted to go on a proper date. If Matt said yes, everything would be great and wonderful. If Matt said no, Shiro would assure him that everything would be fine and they could just be friends for the rest of their lives (even if it might kill Shiro inside). Shiro was prepared for everything. Everything, of course, for Matt to not show up at their usual meeting spot for lunch. 

Shiro had been sitting in the dining hall for about 10 minutes, nervousness fluttering in his stomach. Matt still hadn’t shown up though, and Shiro was beginning to worry. What if Matt got sick? What if he got jumped and was lying in pain in a random alley? Shiro was a nervous wreck. That was until halfway through picking at his food uninterested Shiro was startled by Matt smacking him on the back.

“What’s with the said face? Oh, and sorry I’m late my professor wanted to talk to me about the last essay I wrote!” Matt explained sitting down with a plate of food already in his hand. Shiro must’ve been so busy worrying he hadn’t noticed Matt walk in. 

“Oh, that’s fine.”

“So what was with the sad puppy dog face?” Matt asked with a mouth full of french fries. Shiro smiled calmly, trying to hide the anxiety bubbling beneath the surface.

“Oh nothing, I was just thinking about some stuff. So, how was class?” Shiro asked and that led into an average lunchtime conversation between the two boys. They finished eating up and exited the dining hall. Just as Matt was about to turn towards the library to study, Shiro grabbed onto his arm and stopped him. Matt turned to look at Shiro curiously.

“Hey, I’ve been stressing about some stuff lately, do you think we could just go take a walk or something? Y’know, to help clear my head?” Shiro asked shyly, and Matt responded with a bright smile. 

“Of course! I should probably try and relax a little bit too, right?” Shiro let go of Matt’s arm as the small boy spoke. The two of them began walking in a comfortable silence among the warm colors of the leaves falling around them. Shiro thought nothing could be more perfect. They turned onto the walking trail behind the school and Shiro looked over to Matt. The one person who meant more to him than life itself. Matt was the most beautiful person Shiro had ever seen, both inside and out. He felt his heart swelling up with hope and desperation. He needed Matt to say yes, he needed this to be perfect. If things weren’t perfect, Shiro wasn’t sure his heart could take it. Of course he would never let Matt see him hurting should the answer be “no”. 

But naturally, life decided to mess with Shiro every step of the way. Because just as Shiro took a breath to begin speaking, he felt a droplet fall on his nose. Both boys looked up just as rain started to fall. 

“Aw shit, I forgot it was supposed to rain!” Matt called as the two boys rain for shelter under a large tree that blocked the rain. Matt slid down against the trunk of the tree and sat down tiredly. Shiro plopped himself down next to Matt, his mood now even more sour and it showed on his face. 

“Hey, what’s wrong? You’ve been acting weird.” Matt asked placing a gently hand on Shiro’s shoulder. Shiro shook his head, water droplets shaking off of his hair. 

“I just… everything seems to being going wrong today. Nothing wants to just go according to plan.” Shiro explained as he rubbed at his tired and melancholy face. 

“What did you have planned exactly that went so wrong?” Matt asked scooting closer to Shiro.

“It was nothing… it’s ruined now anyway.”

“The rain ruined it?” Matt asked looking to the sky as Shiro nodded his head.

“So then this plan have something to do with you wanting to go for a walk today?” Shiro’s head shot up at Matt’s words. He began to panic, worrying that maybe Matt had somehow figured out his plan and would reject him right now. 

“How did you know?”

“Shiro you’ve never liked going on walks when you’re stressed. When you’re stressed you like to be lazy and just sit and watch a movie or something. You like walking for fun like a weirdo who likes exercising.” Matt explained with a smile as Shiro felt his heart melt even more. How could someone know Shiro so well when he wasn’t the type to ever open up to others? That’s because he did open up to Matt, and even when he didn’t, Matt knew Shiro better than anyone just from being with him. 

“I guess I can’t hide anything from you, can I?” Shiro asked and Matt laughed softly.

“Nope! So then, what was this ‘master plan’ you had? I’m sure you can still do it, right? The rain isn’t really stopping you is it?” Matt asked innocently. Shiro thought about it for a moment. He could still do it, couldn’t he. It wouldn’t be perfect, but then again, when was anything in his life? He could still be happy though, even without perfection. Shiro took a deep breath and turned to face Matt. 

“You’re right, I guess it doesn’t have to be perfect. So, can I ask you something Matt? Or more like tell you something.” Shiro said confidently. Matt looked at Shiro confused.

“Uh, sure?” 

“Ok then. I… I really like you Matt. Like, I really like you. I think I have for a while but just never noticed until someone pointed it out to me. So, would you… would you like to go out with me sometime?” Shiro asked, his confidence slowly fading with each word and each second he stared into Matt’s startled and confused eyes. 

“You…you like me? And you’re not dating Allura?” Matt asked confused, and his confusion also spread to Shiro.

“What? Allura? No, I would never date her she’s like my sister.”

“But, you really do like me?” Matt looked up to Shiro with hopeful and innocent eyes that Made Shiro want to scoop him up right there and hold him for the rest of their lives.

“Yeah, I really do.” Shiro smiled as Matt flung himself into Shiro’s arms and Shiro’s arms found their way around Matt’s shoulders.

“I like you too. I never thought I’d ever be good enough for you.”

“You’ve always been more than good enough for me Matt.” 

And with that, Shiro and Matt’s new relationship started. Up till that point, their lives had been quite a jumble of messes. Nothing ever seemed to go just the way they wanted to, but that was ok with Matt and Shiro. Because even if things weren’t perfect for these two, they were happy either way.  


End file.
